Building!

I love this Habitat / Whirlpool build.
I cry every time a homeowner speaks!
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Chiming In.

Sorry I've been MIA all week - Apes has been under the weather and I'm busily wrapping up life here in Virginia before I head back to Atlanta for two weeks. I fly out tomorrow - it's time for the Whirlpool Building Blocks event again! Remember last year?

Things have been so hectic that when the Fed Ex man knocked on my door today, I thought he had the wrong house.

We hadn't ordered anything.

It's not my birthday.

I opened the door and stared down at the package.

It had my name on it.

I picked it up and remembered.

Ang.

She's not just a dear blogging friend, she's a dear friend.

Not long ago, Ang sent an email, letting me know I should be on the lookout for a gift from her.

Apes met me at the door and together, we opened the large box, stunned to find a gorgeous set of wind chimes.



A PERSONALIZED set of wind chimes. See that pink circle? In it, there's a tag that Ang had our names and anniversary date engraved on.

I couldn't get a great picture, but I really wanted to show you how special this gift is!



Up until 3pm today, I felt haggard, rushed and like the day was trying to escape from me.

This precious, PERFECT gift changed everything.

I immediately hung it up.

Stood outside and felt the breeze blow by my face and rustle the melodic chimes.

The most amazing sound danced from my front porch.

Time that had been going by at mock speed...stopped.

April and I stood together, watching the chimes, smiling and talking about Ang.

This woman has a heart of gold.

Regardless of where she is in life, or what's going on in her own, she's always thinking of someone else, always wants to know what she can do or how she can help.

She's been a loyal blog reader of mine for a long time and I'm so grateful for her friendship - which is truly the best gift she could ever give me.

Apes and I will think of Ang, and her heart, every time we enter our home.

Ang. Thank you.

I am blown away by your generosity.

Again.

Snaggle's D-Day

We are on our way to the local SPCA.

The stray we found (called Snaggle) has his intake appointment at 2:30.

We are on our way...without Snaggle. We couldn't do it, even knowing he'd probably be adopted quickly.

We spent hours this morning debating the future of Snaggle. He's got an appointment on Wedesday for heartworm treatment and the vet said he'd feel bad for a few weeks and would need to be contained for ten. Neither of us could stand the thought of him being sickly and not with us. Especially if we couldn't be guaranteed someone would kiss his teeth. That's so important to any dog's healing.

So, we're going to treat him and care for him and if a good home comes available, we will happily place him.

Until then, looks like Snaggle is rockin' out his bad under bite at our house for the next little bit.

Four dogs. Help us. We think we may be crazy.

April, queen of corny, laments his heartworms but acknlowdges how brilliant Snaggle is...for worming his way into our hearts.


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I win.

April and I have this thing...

If we're both lying in bed and there's a light that needs to be turned off or a door that needs to be closed, the ONLY thing that keeps either one of us from being the one who has to get up is...

The poodle. Jean Paul.

If his sweet little gray self is nestled in between your legs, all you have to do is arch your brows, point, and say:

"Aw, I can't. I gots the Poodle."

Whomever is poodle-less growls, snarls and grunts about having to get up, but there is no arguing once the poodle-trump-card has been played.

I'm not going to lie, this usually works out in my favor. Not sure why the poodle prefers to sleep with me, but it's saved me many a night.

However, last night, the poodle opted for Apes. He snuggled down, rolled around in her camo blanket, and closed his eyes.

April smiled.

Me? I had Snaggle in my lap - the stray dog we found a few weeks ago. We're still fostering him and learned from his recent vet trip that he's healthy, save some treatable heart worm issues.

There we were, lying in bed, and our remote wasn't working.

"Can you please get up and go push play?" I asked, batting my blue eyes.

A grin spread across Ape's face.

She pointed to the poodle.

"I can't. I gots the poodle! YEAH! I got the POODLE!"

I stared.

"Um, well I have the stray with heart worms."

I actually saw April deflate.

"DAMN IT! How can I compete with that? Shit. Fine. I'll do it."

But she was smiling.

Hey, she knows when she's been beat.

At least she's gracious about it...

Completely Random Update

My brain is thinkin' in bullet points today...

+ Here's what I've learned. When you haven't really had to multi-task in a long time, being thrown into a job where you get 22 emails during your two-minute bathroom break can be alarming and requires some serious adjustment.

+ April (still) doesn't understand why I run my space heater all the time. I believe her exact words are: "You're KILLING me." She argues I should just turn down the air conditioner. I could, but that doesn't solve the problem. My feet are USED to hot air blowing on them. When there is no hot air, my feet feel lonely. Ergo, I need the space heater.

+ An awesome storm blew through town today. I worked by lamp and candle light, feeling all cozy and content.

+ For grins, I routinely pull out my autographed copy of Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. I can't help it. It makes me feel special.

+ I got really lucky the other day. I met Apes for lunch and when I returned home, I found a candle still burning on my office desk. BIG NO NO. Like I said, I got lucky.

+ I'm going to see the movie Julie & Julia this weekend. I can't wait!

+ Last night while playing doubles tennis, I did several pirouettes. It sounds impressive but looked ridiculous. No room for pirouettes in doubles tennis. Especially if you don't even come close to hitting the ball.

+ Our resident "stray" dog thinks he's entitled to my spot on the bed. The turf war has begun. I hope I win.

Daily peek

We spent the morning spring cleaning. Now, tennis. Later - grocery.

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Hygiene Handbook Says....

This morning, Apes rolled over, all lazy like, her hand sort-of brushing the left side of her face.

Before she even spoke, I followed her hand movement, looking to see if there was anything stuck on her.

"Do I have something on my chicken?" she mumbled, eyes barely open.

"On your CHICKEN?"

"Stoooop," she whined, batting her hand in my direction. "My brain got stuck between cheek and chin!"

Of course it did. Happens all the time.

We all have to make sure nothing is stuck to our chickens. Page four of the hygiene handbook.

Lotta Love in Four Years.

Yesterday, August 14th, was my fourth anniversary with Apes.

I still want to pinch myself. Often I pinch her...just to make sure she's real. She screams and I know she is.

We agreed that this year, instead of buying gifts for each other, we'd purchase a large item together.

Football season is nearly upon us, so our decision shouldn't surprise anyone.

FLAT. SCREEN. TV.

I'm thinking we might be the only couple on the planet who doesn't yet own one. In fact, the television sets in our house right now are so old we could charge admission to small children and show 'em how people used to watch TV in the olden days.

We (read: Apes) are still in the research phase of our flat screen purchase, so we hit up Best Buy last night before our annual anniversary dinner at The Melting Pot. Remember this from two years ago?

Although we weren't doing individual gifts, we did do small "I love you" surprises for each other.

April excels at these small, "I love you," gifts.

Before I explain what she did, there are two things I should review:

1) If you don't know the significance of the #38 in our lives, please read THIS before continuing on.

2) Apes and I are quite, um, competitive. It's why we have our own separate Fantasy Football teams instead of a joint one. It's also why I've teased her throughout the course of our relationship about reaching the 4-year mark. She's had several four year relationships."Well, you know," I'd tell Apes, "you have me for at least four years and one day...just so I will be your longest relationship." I have no doubt it was of great comfort to her. I have also been very clear with her that once we reached the four year mark, we'd need to discuss my plans for re-upping versus becoming a free agent (usually met with an eye roll on her part).

Back to last night.

April came down the stairs carrying this:





She handed me a card, sections of it repeated below:

"Your rookie contract has expired. I'd like to negotiate a long-term deal to ensure you stay part of the Dillow team!"

"If you agree and re-up, I'll let you keep the #38 and we'll retire it."


Next she handed me this, explaining that I reminded her of a stick of dynamite (her little "dynamo").





Laughing, I unwrapped the stick of dynamite to find a contract. A LONG-TERM Relationship Contract.




Already signed by Apes, the contract stipulates that by signing, I agree to love, comfort, honor and protect her, forsaking all others. It also requires I be faithful to her for as long as we both shall live (future reincarnations will be subject to renewal of contract).

Of course, I signed.



The moment I did, Apes slapped a Detroit Tigers hat on my head and explained that for me, the "D" stands for Dillow.

I've never been so happy to be owned. Seriously.

Taxi Cab Smart

Ed drove the beat up cab that delivered me to the airport last Friday.

Somewhere in his seventies with skin the color of dark chocolate, Ed had a head of gray curls, wrinkled skin that hung off his arms and black eyes that SAW me.

I can't explain it, except to say, the moment I sat down on the ripped seat and inhaled the pine air freshner scent, our eyes met and this man saw straight through me.

I've never experienced anything like it. His eyes flickered and turned soft, just as the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile so sweet I nearly cried.

It was like he knew I was exhausted, missing home, feeling a little lost and in need of a friend .

He wanted to know where I was from, why I was in Atlanta and at some point, he asked how I lived my life.

"What do you mean?" I asked, startled by the question.

"I've been driving this cab for 51 years," he said, tapping the steering wheel and catching my eye in the rear view mirror. "I've hauled many a person in my cab, seen things I wish I could forget, heard stories of sadness and joy, been respected and disrespected. I've learned a lot about people, driving this cab, and I think life is like a cab ride."

Now I was smiling.

"How so?" I asked, just as we pulled into the departure drop off at the airport.

Ed turned to look at me and said, "All you can hope for is that you arrive in one piece. My dear, at least for today, right now, you have. We're here and it was my pleasure."

Ed was pure grace in a taxi cab...Atlanta's best kept secret.




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I need a home!

If there's a stray dog within a hundred feet of me, I'll find it.

Apes and I found this adorable mutt running down the middle of the highway.

He's got a massive underbite that makes me giggle and yes, I've kissed those teeth.

He's grown on us, but we can't have four dogs. So which one of ya'll is gonna step up and love him?

He's leash and potty trained, loves to snuggle and is good with other dogs.

Don't disappoint me blogging buds!

Help Kamikaze find a home! (What else would you name a dog that runs in traffic?)

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How I've missed thee

You have no idea how much I've missed blogging! I feel so out of touch!

I am going to be working for an Atlanta based non profit for the next several months, requiring quite a bit of travel between home and the office.

I just spent two weeks in Atlanta getting brought up to speed on the goings on of the marketing/branding department and while I had a great time in the big city (finally got to meet Shannon and Sweet Melissa!), I really really missed Apes, home, the dawgs and having time to blog.

Apes picked me up at the airport and shuttled me to the river for a weekend of serenity. No cable, no internet, just us, the dogs and the water. We're still here...I'm blogging from my cell phone because I couldn't resist.

Corn ball Apes is at it again (I'm not complaining, I've missed that too!)

First, you have to know we have nicknames for all our dogs.

Rosie can be: Ro, RoRo, Ro-ster, Pidge or Rosie the one eyed wonder.

Jean Paul can be: Poopsie, the Poo or Jean Paul the Poodle Pope.

Stewart can be: Stew, Stewie, the big dog or Dude.

This morning, after rolling over to hug Apes and tell her (again) how much I've missed her, I scooted down toward the edge of the bed to love on Stew, the big dog.

"You know," I said to Apes, looking over my shoulder, "The Dude wasn't as happy to see me as I thought he'd be. He just sniffed me and walked away."

"Aw, honey, its not personal," Apes said, joining me to love on Stew. "He's just getting older and has been more subdude than normal."

It took less than five seconds for her to be proud of herself.

"That's perfect!!! Did you get it? Sub-DUDE?!!"

I had gotten it and thought it was just as funny as she did.

We hee-hawed together, rolled around with the dogs some more and I realized, again, how good it is to be home.



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whoa doggy

Work is kicking my butt! I miss ya'll! I fly home this weekend - see you then if not before!

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Best Facebook Status EVER

My friend Tracy just posted:

Sent my naked son to his room to get dressed and he came back out wearing winter gloves and a reflective bracelet...

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